A Puppy For Shiro
by Alasse Earfalas
Summary: *DISCONTINUED* What is poor Hitsu to do when a strange, yet adorable white puppy insists on following him everywhere? WARNING: Contains copious amounts of cuteness. Will contain HitsuHina.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Thick sheets of rain pelted the ground outside. Wind howled, whipping violently around the building. Thunder crackled, then boomed.

Toushirou Hitsugaya, Captain of the Tenth Squad, was sound asleep.

The storm didn't bother him in the slightest. In fact, it was almost soothing. The cool air that seeped through the cracks of his bedroom felt wonderful on his tired skin. The sounds that would've woken most people merely reminded him of his inner world, leading him into an even deeper sleep.

_"ARF!" _

Toushirou twitched. _No. Go away._ He snuggled deeper under the covers.

*scratch scratch* "ARF!" *whine* "Arouu! Arf ARF! *whine* *scratch*

He pulled the covers over his head. _Stupid stray dog…_

"AROOUUUU!!! Ar-AROOOO!!! AROOO!! Arf!" *whine* *scratch scratch*

_Just ignore him. He'll leave. _

"AROOOOUUUUOOOUUUU!!!" *whine*

"Nyagh, FINE!" Toushirou threw the covers off and went to the door. "Stupid frikkin' dog…" He yanked the door open. "Go aw- HEY!!"

The white husky pup leapt right past him and into the room. He shook himself off (showering Toushirou in the process), then trotted over to Toushirou's bedside, turned in a couple circles, and plopped on the floor.

"You_ stupid dog!!_" Toshiro stormed over to where the dog lay. "What the heck do you think you're doing?? I never said you could come in!!"

The dog lifted his head, opened his large, teal eyes, and tilted his head to the side.

"Now _get out!!_"

The dog rolled onto his back.

Toushirou swallowed. _Crap… he's so… cute…_ He blinked, then shook his head. _What am I thinking!? I can't have dog! No way in heck! I don't have time to take care of a dog; I've got two whole squads to manage!_ Since the battle with Aizen had ended several weeks ago, the Captain-commander had assigned three different Captains to oversee the three Captain-less squads until replacements could be found. Toushirou had volunteered to take on the Fifth Squad.

Thunder boomed.

Toushirou glanced at his open door. _It's really pouring outside…_ He looked back at the dog (who was still on his back). _Well… I guess one night wouldn't hurt. It _is_ really bad outside…_ "Fine, you can stay here," he grumbled. "But you'd better be gone by morning!"

The dog rolled back onto his stomach, curled up into a ball, and went to seep. Toushirou followed suit.

l***l

Something warm and wet slid across his face. Several times. In rapid succession.

His arm raised to protect his face from this slobbery onslaught. "Get _off!_" He shoved the dog away. "Frikkin' heck… You're supposed to be _gone_, remember?"

The dog whined. "Arf!"

"What?"

He couldn't be sure, but it almost looked like the dog was nodding _towards his clock_.

He checked the time. "Oh, _crap!_ I've barely got enough time to shower before the Captain's meeting!" He jumped to his feet and bee-lined to the bathroom. Turning back to the dog for a second, he said, "Shoo! Go on, get out of here!"

The dog tilted his head to the side as Toushirou closed the bathroom door.

l***l

_That dog better be gone by now,_ Toushirou thought as he stepped out of the shower. _I left my door open enough for him to leave on his own…_

He wrapped a towel around himself and opened the door. _Oh, for the love of- …wait…WHAT THE…??_

The dog was lying on the floor, but sat up and yipped cheerfully when Toushirou opened the bathroom door. Right next to the dog was Toushirou's complete daily outfit, perfectly laid out and ready to be worn.

_…That's strange… I don't remember having my clothes laid out…_ "I thought I told you to leave," Toushirou scolded as he walked over and closed his front door so he could change.

"Arf!" *wag wag*

Toushirou quickly dressed, ignoring the dog as much as possible. The puppy eagerly followed his every move. "Come here," Toushirou said as he opened the door.

The puppy cheerfully yipped and followed him out.

"Go on, now. Shoo!" Toushirou waved the puppy away, but the dog just stood there, happily watching Toushirou, his tail a-wagging. _Gah! Stupid dog…_ He saw a good-sized stick not too far away. _Hmm… maybe if I throw that stick…_

The dog suddenly looked towards the stick, ran to it, picked it up, brought it to Toushirou, and set it down. "Arf arf!" His forelegs bent as he crouched into a playful position.

_…Okay, that was weird…_ Toushirou picked up the stick and threw it as far as he could in the direction opposite the meeting hall. The puppy chased right after it. _Good riddance,_ Toushirou thought as he used Shunpo to get to the meeting.

l***l

"Ho there, Hitsugaya-taichou!" Shunsui Kyouraku waved as Toushirou appeared in front of him at the meeting hall. "Shunpo, huh?" He smiled. "Wake up late?"

"You're one to talk," Toushirou retorted dryly. "No; just had something to take care of."

"I see," Shunsui replied as they walked into the large room, the doors closing behind them.

Toushirou took his place in line just as the doors closed. Already he was making a mental list of all the things he needed to do today-

_"Arf!"_

His eyes widened and snapped to the door. _No._ He blinked and shook his head. It wasn't possible. Maybe he was just hearing-

_"Arf arf!" *whine*_

Was anyone else hearing this?? He nervously glanced at the other Captains. A few of them were, in fact, looking at the door with expressions ranging from bemusement to annoyance. _Maybe… no, it's **got** to be a different dog. There's no way that white one could've gotten here that quick-_

The door exploded.

* * *

Okay, I have absolutely no idea where I'm going with this (in the long run, anyhow). XD I just thought it was adorable & had to post it. Hope you enjoyed it! ^_^ Another chapter's on its way... no saying when it'll actually _get_ here, but yeah. XD


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 

Reiatsus surged across the room as the dust cleared from the broken pieces of wood laying in a heap on the floor. A few of those pieces moved as the cause of the explosion made its way out of the rubble. Said cause then frolicked towards Toushirou, set a stick on the ground in front of him, and assumed a playful position.

"Arf!" *wag wag*

Toushirou took a couple steps back. He could feel the prodding gazes of his fellow Captains like heat rays on his skin. His eyes were wide in utter astonishment. His fists clenched, his heart pounding. "I swear this is _not_ my dog…"

Shunsui chuckled. "You sure about that?"

Toushirou shot him a look. "_Shaddup!_"

"Shall I take care of it?" Soifon asked, glaring at the puppy as if he were her next assassination assignment.

"Wait, Soifon-taichou." The Captain-commander was watching the pup intently. "Let's watch him for a minute."

The dog suddenly stood up and turned towards the pile of rubble. He tilted his head to the side, then trotted over to the pile, sniffing it. He looked up at what remained of the doors, then started walking around the pile, as if he were looking for something. Then he trotted away from the pile (and towards the Captain-commander), turned, and stared at the pile.

He started glowing.

Toushirou had seen that kind of glow before. It was the kind that formed around a person when their reiatsu levels rose. But Toushirou couldn't feel _any_ reiatsu coming from this dog. _What the…? What __**is**__ he?_

The pieces of rubble started to glow. They lifted off the ground, gradually returning to where they had just been not two minutes ago. When they were all in place, the dog trotted up to the doors, and put his forepaws on them, sending a visible ripple of reiatsu out, which somehow melded the pieces together, making the doors look as good as new.

The glowing stopped. The puppy licked his lips, then yipped, trotted back over Toushirou, pushed the stick towards Toushirou with his nose, and went back to the playful position. "Rrarf! Arf!" *wag wag*

Mayuri Kurotsuchi was the first to break the short silence. "How interesting…" he said as he stepped towards the dog, a familiar grin on his face.

In less than half a second, the white husky pup at Toushirou's feet went from an adorable little bundle of fur, to a vicious, snarling mass of fangs and claws. He glared at Mayuri, his teeth bared and dripping, and his fur standing on end.

"Stop, Kurotsuchi-taichou!" the Captain-commander ordered.

"What?" Mayuri complained.

"Leave that dog alone."

"Tch, whatever." The scientist grudgingly took his place in line.

The puppy changed back to adorable just as quickly as he had changed out of it. He pushed the stick towards Toushirou again, then sat, barked, and waged his tail. He even started to stand on his hind legs a couple times.

"Hitsugaya-taichou…" The Captain-commander opened his eyes and looked at the prodigy, as if he were trying to figure something out. "Have you ever seen this dog before?"

Toushirou glanced at the Captain-commander, then returned to glaring at the dog. "Only once. He was barking at my door last night during that really bad storm, so I decided to let him in until the storm passed. I-"

"What storm?" Byakyua Kuchiki was giving Toushirou a cold stare.

Toushirou blinked. "Wha… what do you mean, 'what storm'? That really huge storm last night."

"Ah? I don't remember any storm." Kenpachi Zaraki picked some earwax. "Ground was bone-dry this morning, too."

"Maybe he was just imagining things," Mayuri suggested.

"I was not! There _was_ a storm last night; otherwise I wouldn't have let him in!"

"RUFF!" The puppy barked loudly, startling everyone in the room. His ears lowered a bit as he stared at Toushirou, then down at the stick, then back up at Toushirou. *whine* "Arf! Rarf!"

The Captain-commander took a deep breath. "I know this may be inconvenient for you, Hitsugaya-taichou, but with the abilities that dog has… I want you to keep an eye on him for awhile."

Several veins bulged in Toushirou's forehead. "Why me?"

"He sees you as his Master," Sajin Komamura said matter-of-factly. "He'll follow you everywhere, no matter who else may be assigned to look after him."

Seeing as how Komamura was a wolf himself, Toushirou figured he didn't have any grounds to argue.

"Arrrrourrrrooouuuu…" The dog was pleading now.

"He wants you to throw the stick," Komamura said.

"I know what he _wants_," Toushirou replied, annoyed now beyond all means of description.

"It's alright," the Captain-commander said. "Go ahead and throw the stick. We wouldn't want him to get… upset."

Toushirou almost glared at the Captain-commander, but caught himself in time. _You guys are really just doing this to tick me off, aren't you?_ he thought as he picked up the stick.

"Arf arf!" The dog jumped up, turned in a circle, then went back to the playful position. "Arf! Arf arf!" *wag wag wag*

Toushirou tossed the stick to the other side of the room, and the dog happily chased after it. _Do I have to do this for the hole frikkin' meeting?_ he thought angrily. The dog pounced on the stick, the picked it up, and brought it back to Toushirou. _It'd be a whole lot better if he'd just lay down and chew on it or something…_

The puppy, who was just about to set the stick in front of Toushirou, suddenly stopped, looked up at Toushirou, then trotted around behind him, plopped next to him, and started contently chewing on the stick.

Toushirou stared at him. _What… the…?_

"Now then," the Captain-commander said, "let's continue our meeting."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"That is all. You are dismissed."

Captain Kyouraku watched from under his hat as the white husky pup cheerfully followed the boy genius out of the room. He stayed put until most of the Captains left. Captain Unohana was the only other one who stayed behind.

"Hey, Yama-jii…"

"What?"

"You don't suppose… that dog could be Captain Hitsugaya's _shadow_, do you?"

"I was thinking that as well," Captain Unohana said. "Especially with the storm he saw when the dog arrived…"

"Not to mention the fact that the dog was using _his_ reiatsu to fix the door," Shunsui added.

"It is entirely possible." The Captain-commander opened his eyes. "That's why I had Captain Hitsugaya look after the dog. Time will tell us whether that pup really is a Shadow Dog."

l***l

Toushirou waited until he was alone with the dog to interact with it. It was, of course, still begging him to play fetch.

Which was kind-of a good thing.

Toushirou turned to the dog. "How the heck did you get to the meeting hall so fast?" he asked, mostly to himself.

The puppy stood on his hind legs, the stick still in his mouth.

"Here, give me that." Toushirou grabbed one end of the stick.

The puppy pulled back.

"Oi! Give it to me!" Hitsugaya grabbed the stick with his other hand.

The puppy tugged harder, growling playfully.

"This isn't funny! Give me the frikkin' stick!"

"Rrrrrrrrrrrrr…" *tug tug*

"ARGH!" Toushirou let go. "Why the heck do _I_ have to look after you? You _stupid dog!_ I'm _not_ your master!"

The dog looked at him blankly, then tilted his head to the side. "…Aou?"

"Forget it. I don't have time for this…" Toushirou used Shunpo to head towards the Tenth Squad office.

"Arf arf!"

Toushirou glanced over his shoulder. His eyes shot open. _WHAT THE-?_ He came to a screeching halt.

The puppy was right there, tail wagging.

Toushirou gaped at the dog. _What the heck…? Did he… use Shunpo?_ Toushirou did a double-take. _…And what did he do with that stick?_

The puppy disappeared.

Toushirou looked around. _Where-_

The puppy reappeared. With the stick in his mouth.

…_What the…?_ "Oi…" Toushirou crouched down, peering seriously into the dog's eyes. "I wonder… Can you… hear what I'm thinking?"

The puppy nodded.

Toushirou's eyes widened for a second, then narrowed. "So… you _can_ understand me…"

The puppy set the stick down. "Arf arf!"

"Hm…" Toushirou stood up, then used Shunpo to get to the Tenth Squad building.

"RUF-!" The puppy's ears flattened. He sneezed, picked up the stick, and followed the prodigy.

l***l

_I'm going to get SO much crap from Matsumoto for this…_ Toushirou thought as he landed in front of the tenth squad main building.

"Good morning, Hitsugaya-taichou!"

"Morning." His underlings always greeted him cheerily; it was nice, but Toushirou never took any effort to return the favor.

The puppy appeared in front of him.

"WHA-?"

The puppy set the stick down. "Ruff!" *whine*

His subordinates were automatically up-in-arms. "What _is_ that, Hitsugaya-taichou?"

Veins once again bulged in Toushirou's forehead. "It's a dog… that the Captain-commander told me to look after for awhile."

"Arf arf!" *wag*

"Just ignore him." Toushirou started walking into the building, but stopped when he noticed that something had caught on the leg of his uniform.

"Rrrrrrrrrr…"

"OI! Let go of me!"

Even without looking up, Toushirou could tell that his underlings were trying _very_ hard not to laugh.

The puppy whined, then pushed the stick towards Toushirou with his paw, all while keeping a firm grip on Toushirou's robe.

Toushirou gritted his teeth. "Fine…" He picked up the stick.

"Arf arf!" The puppy immediately let go of Toushirou and turned in several circles, then stopped in the playful position with his tail wagging madly. "Arf arf!"

Toushirou threw the stick hard (more out of frustration than anything) and stormed into the Tenth Squad barracks.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

"Good morning, Taichou!"

"Arf!"

"Hn?" Rangiku looked down to see a white husky pup with a stick in his mouth. "Aww! He's soo cute! Taichou, where'd you get him? Can we keep him?"

Toushirou did his best to stay focused on the tedious paperwork. "I have to look after him. Orders from the top."

"Eh? The Captain-commander _ordered_ you to look after an adowable wittle puppy?"

"He has some strange abilities. He destroyed the door to the captain's meeting hall, then repaired it within a matter of seconds. Also…" He glanced at the puppy, who was sitting next to him with the stick in his mouth. "I don't know how, but… I know he can at least hear my thoughts, and understand what I say. I'm not sure if he can do that for anyone else."

"Really?" Rangiku looked at the begging puppy. "Aw, Taichou, why don't you play with him?"

"Because I have _work_ to do, idiot."

The puppy was whining again, the stick on the ground in front of him. "Aww! Here sweetie, I'll throw the stick for you." Rangiku reached for the stick.

"_Ruff!_" The puppy snapped at Rangiku's hand, growled at her a little, then picked up the stick and set it on Toushirou's lap. "Aaoouu…"

"What's with you?" Rangiku barked. "Don't you want someone to throw the stick for you?"

The puppy's ears drooped, his eyes still fixed on Toushirou.

"Just let her throw it," Toushirou ordered. "It won't kill you to play with someone besides me, jeez…"

The puppy leaped onto the desk (miraculously avoiding anything that would've made a mess) and sat, staring at Toushirou.

"WHA-? NO! BAD DOG! OFF!"

The puppy whined.

"GET OFF!" Toushirou tried to shove the puppy off the desk, but the bundle of fur just wouldn't budge.

"Excuse me…"

The sweet voice that Toushirou knew so well immediately caught the puppy's attention. His ears perked up, and one paw raised.

_Crap! What's Momo doing here so early in the morning?_ Toushirou thought. "Come in."

"_Arf!_" The puppy practically fell off the desk and bounced to the door. His tail was wagging more than usual.

The door opened. Momo's face immediately lit up upon seeing the adorable little furball. "A puppy! Oh, he's so cute!" She bent down to pet the puppy, but he dodged, assuming the playful position.

"Yip-yip! Arf!" *wag wag*

Momo giggled. "Sorry," she said, "I can't play with you right now; I've gotta give these to Hitsugaya-ku- I mean, Hitsugaya-taichou."

"I heard that," Toushirou teased. Seeing Momo always seemed to put him in a good mood.

"Hey, at least I corrected myself!" She sighed and stood up. "Here you go… Taichou." She held out a small stack of papers.

_She's still having trouble calling me that…_ Toushirou took the pages from her outstretched hand. "What's this?"

"It's my report. I was wondering… could you, look over it?"

"…Why?" _And where the crap did Matsumoto go?_

Momo's eyes grew wide for a second. "Oh, well… don't you… look over your Fukutaichou's reports, before they get turned in…?"

Toushirou raised his eyebrow at her. "Of course not; that's her job." He held the papers out to her.

"Oh, um… could you just, look over it anyway? I can wait here-"

"No."

Momo's eyebrows raised, then furrowed. "Why not? It won't take-!"

"_Hinamori._" He couldn't help but grin inside when she jumped. "How many reports have you written since becoming a Fukutaichou?"

"…um… I don't know…?"

"A lot, right?"

"Well… yeah, but-"

"'But' nothing." He shoved the pages into her hands. "You should know by now how to write a decent report. I'm sure it's fine; just turn it in." He pretended to go back to doing his paperwork.

"_AH!_"

Toushirou looked up just in time to see Momo's beautiful black hair fall out of the bun she always kept it in. _What the-?_

The husky pup jumped down from the couch, Momo's hair cloth and ribbon dangling from his teeth. He growled playfully, his tail wagging.

"Oi! Give that back!" Momo set her report on the desk and began chasing the puppy, but he managed to evade her without knocking anything over. Toushirou thought about stopping the puppy at one point, but then decided that this was just way too much fun to watch. He even smiled a few times.

"Oi, come here! I need tha- _ah!_ " Momo slipped and fell behind the couch. The puppy bolted towards Toushirou, threw his front paws on Toushirou's leg, dropped the haircloth and ribbon in Toushirou's lap, and frolicked away, as if he were trying to trick Momo into thinking that he still had the hair cloth. It worked, too; once Momo got up, she continued to chase the puppy around the room. The puppy somehow managed to keep his mouth hidden from her enough for her to assume that he still had the haircloth.

Toushirou glanced at the haircloth in his lap a few times. What should he do? Momo sure looked a lot better with her hair down… plus, the longer the cloth stayed hidden, the longer she'd stay in the office looking for it. But on the other hand… it would certainly be the more _mature_, _adult_ thing to give the cloth back… she might even thank him for it…

…_Ah, forget being 'adult'; Momo's my friend!_ Toushirou opened a drawer and dropped the haircloth inside with such stealth that even Soifon-taichou would've been impressed.

The puppy stopped, faced Momo, and sat. He panted, his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth, and his tail wagging. "Aou!"

Momo came to a screeching halt. "Wha…? Where's my hair cloth?" She looked around on the floor, the couch, and the coffee table. Then she looked up at Toushirou.

"…What?" he said, feigning annoyance. "Don't look at me; he's been running from you the whole time."

Momo looked back at the puppy. "What did you do with it?"

He lifted his paw and waved it at her. "Aou? Aaouu…" He plopped onto his back.

Momo's eyes widened. "Oh no!" She knelt next to his exposed belly. "Did you swallow it?"

The puppy rolled onto his belly and tilted his head at her. He started looking back and forth between her and Toushirou.

Toushirou glared at him. _If you give me away, you stupid freaking dog, I swear, I __**will**__ hurt you._

The puppy's ears flattened back a little. He jumped up, trotted to Hyourinmaru (which was leaning against the wall in the corner), grabbed it in his teeth, and bolted out of the room.

Rage spread across Toushirou's face. "_NO!_ BAD DOG!" He stood and Shunpo-ed out of the room. "_Come back here!_"

Momo stood slowly, then picked up her report from the desk. _I wonder why Hitsugaya-kun has a dog…? He sure doesn't seem like he wants it…_

"Good morning, Hinamo~ri!"

"Ah, good morning, Rangiku-san."

"Where's your hair cloth?"

Momo huffed. "I don't know! Hitsugaya-ku- er, Hitsugaya-taichou's puppy took it, and I don't know what he did with it! I've looked everywhere…"

"Speaking of Taichou…" Rangiku glanced around the room. "Where'd he go?"

"The puppy took off with his zanpakuto, so he chased after it."

"Eh? Really?" Rangiku put her finger on her chin and gazed upwards, as if she were thinking. "This really _does_ look like a strange puppy, then…"

"Rangiku-san?"

"Hn?"

"Why did he even _get_ a puppy in the first place? It doesn't seem like him…"

"Ah, the Captain-commander ordered Taichou to look after him. He has some strange abilities, apparently… I don't think Taichou wants the job, but since the puppy can apparently read his thoughts and understand what he says, Taichou's stuck with him."

"Eh? The puppy can read Hitsugaya…-taichou's thoughts?"

"Yup. Taichou told me himself."

"Really… I wonder if he can read anyone else's thoughts?"

"Ah, who knows…"

Momo checked the time. "Ah! I have to go! Ne, Rangiku-san, could you do me a favor?"

"What is it?"

Momo walked to the door. "If you find my hair cloth, could you bring it to me?"

"Oh, sure! But, you know… you should really try wearing your hair down more often. It looks great!"

Momo smiled. "Thanks, but it gets in the way too much. Well, see you later, Rangiku-san!"

"See ya!"


End file.
